What I Wanted Was a Plastic Heart
by Amber Lehcar
Summary: High school is a tough time for everyone, and the students of Death City High School are no exception. Some things in life would be so much easier with plastic hearts... Oh no, not another high school AU! SoMa, TsuStar, LizKid
1. Episode One: Maka

**So I recently finished watching the UK version of Skins and oh my gosh I love it so much, you don't even know! So I had this dream where the SE characters were in an AU that was sorta Skins-like? I couldn't help myself, I had to write it. So the chapters are kinda like the show, each chapter focusing on one character at a time until the last one for everyone. It isn't a crossover or anything, just kinda inspired by Skins. So yeah, enjoy! I don't own Soul Eater or Skins.**

* * *

_There's a lot of pressure to "be yourself". High school complicates that. In high school, you have to be yourself, but not quite yourself. You have to be a better version of you. A perfect you. And sometimes you mess it all up by being the nerdy, goody-two-shoes bookworm. There isn't a better version of that. But moving makes it less complicated. You get to choose a new, better you. It's like hitting the reset button._

"Hi, I'm Maka Albarn! Nice to meet you! No... Hey, I'm Maka! You are? Lame... Um... I like your outfit! Why thank you! There's a teacher with my name? Crazy coincidence! A teacher here with my last name? Well, Albarn's are everywhere, you know?" She sighed. Practicing in front of the mirror had seemed like a good idea. But Maka only had a few minutes to decide who she was going to be at her new school.

"Ready to go, sweetie?" Her father appeared in the doorway. "Figured I'd give you a lift on your first day."

The girl crossed her arms and sighed. "We've been over this. If they know you're my dad, all my good grades will mean nothing. They won't think I earned them, they'll think you give me extra credit or something because I'm your daughter. And if you aren't supposed to be anything but my teacher, we'll have problems explaining why you are dropping me off at school _and_ share the same name."

"Oh... alright, just double-checking... I'll see you in school then," Spirit replied sadly. He dragged his feet as he made his way down the hall.

Had the situation been different, Maka would have felt bad for how she said she had said. He was just trying to be helpful, she understood that. But along with what she said, she had other reasons to not want to be around him as much as she could. The divorce had taken a toll on her. The affair had destroyed her relationship with her father. But she wouldn't dwell on that now. She had to get to school on time, make a good impression. So as soon as her father's old, beat up car clunked out of the driveway, Maka made her way out into the hot August air.

Nevada Augusts weren't that different from Nebraska Augusts. The sun hung lazily in the sky, trying to melt everything below it. She was certainly glad she had worn a skirt that day. A few people she assumed to be students passed by her on their way towards Death City High School. She must not have given them a hint that she was a new student. Good. She hated the pressure of being the new kid. It was freeing when you wanted to be someone new, sure. But there was the pressure to decide who you would be at the new school.

Finally she came to the doors. She could see a sea of students making their way through the hallways. "You can do this. You're ready," Maka whispered to herself before pushing open the doors. She instantly regretted it.

Students pushed passed her, not even pausing to apologize to her. The lack courtesy she'd known in the midwest was definitely something to get used to. One final shove had her falling into another student in order to keep her balance. "I'm really sorry," Maka immediately said righting herself.

"Not yet you're not," the girl she had run into replied with venom in her voice. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Um, no. You see, I'm new to school, so..."

"Well let me educate you, new girl." The girl crossed her arms as a shorter girl joined her side mimicking her stance. "We're the Thompson sisters. If you're smart, you won't mess with us. This is your only warning." The two pushed past Maka, the younger sister flipping her off as she went.

"Seriously? What was that for?" The blonde noticed two boys snickering and pointing at her, both with oddly colored hair. One with blue, the other silver. Frustrated, she barked, "What are you looking at?" The blue-haired boy busted out laughing as the two walked away.

"Excuse me?" a soft voice behind her called. Maka turned around to find a tall girl with long, dark hair pulled up in a ponytail. "You really must be new to try and start a fight with Liz and Patty."

"I wasn't trying to start a fight with them. I was pushed," the blonde mumbled.

"You handled it well in any case." The girl smiled at her and extended a hand in greeting. "I'm Tsubaki. Nice to meet you."

She stared at it hesitantly before finally taking it. "Maka Albarn."

"So, Tough Girl Maka, where are you from?"

"Nebraska. Moved with my dad because of his work."

A look of knowing crossed the girl's face. "You must be Mr. Albarn's-"

Maka waved her hands frantically to get her to stop. "Shhh, I don't want people to know!"

"Oh, sorry... I guess that makes sense. You might get teased if they know you are related. What's your first class, anyway?"

"American History. With my dad..." She did not realize that that morning, it had just hit her then. "I'm not going to be able to keep it a secret for long, am I?"

"Maybe, maybe not. But you know what? Your exchange with Liz might deter people from teasing you. Wouldn't want to get roughed up by you, you know?" Tsubaki threw her a huge smile.

Maka returned it. She honestly thought that she had made a friend in Tsubaki. She was exactly what she needed. "Maybe we have some classes together?" she asked hopeful.

"Probably not," the other girl answered. "I'm a senior. You must be a junior if you're taking American History with Mr. Albarn. But we can eat lunch together if you'd like!"

"Sure! I'd love that!"

…

"He called my name and looked around the room as if he didn't know what I looked like."

Tsubaki laughed. "See? There ya go! Now that he's made an effort to make it look like you aren't related, maybe no one will question it."

Maka shrugged. "Guess it'd be one of the only times he didn't let me down." She angrily took a bite of her corndog.

"What do you mean?" The older girl gave her a concerned, curious look.

She had not wanted to have this conversation so soon. Clearing her throat, she collected her thoughts and began her explanation. "A few months ago, my dad had an affair that ended in my parents getting a divorce. Dad wanted to try and get away from my mother after that, so he applied for job's here in Nevada." She leaned back in her chair and sighed. "But before he got the job here at the high school, my mother decided she needed to get away from him too. Traveling the world and doing all the things she'd wanted to before they'd gotten married and had me seemed to be the answer for her. So she left me with my dad, and here we are."

Tsubaki's eyebrows furrowed. "She just up and left you two?"

"Not really. She plans on coming back. She writes me at least once a week," the blonde explained before taking another bite of lunch. "I mean, yeah, it sucks that I'm stuck with my no-good father, but she's wanted to do this all her life. I'm sure she appreciates that I went along with it so easily. And when she gets back, I'll live with her and we can forget all about my cheating father."

Her friend uncomfortably twiddled her thumbs in her lap. In an attempt to change the subject, she asked, "Did you want to go to a party tonight? Someone always throws a big 'start of year' party. I've never gone. But if you want some time away from your dad, maybe...?"

Maka Albarn was not a party animal. At least Nebraska Maka was not. But new and improved Nevada Maka could be. "Sure. Why not?"

…

She remembered why she never went to parties. She could only understand about half the words her new friend was saying, she was being thrown into sweaty, moving bodies, and the lights kept irritating her eyes.

"Having fun?" Tsubaki shouted over the music, a glass of punch in her hand.

"Oh, loads!" she shouted back. She spotted the two boys from earlier. "Who are they?"

"Blake Barett and Soul Evans. Blake and I used to be good friends."

Maka decided then and there that she needed to get back at them for laughing at her earlier that day. "Then why don't we say hello?" The blonde didn't wait for an answer before making her way towards them. Tsubaki gave an exasperated sigh and followed close behind.

"Hey, Tsubaki! Haven't seen you much today! How you been this summer?" Blake shouted at her, waving a cigarette around as he spoke. "Yo, who's this shorty here?"

"That's the flat girl who stood up to Liz and Patty earlier, remember?" Soul answered, casually winking at Maka.

"Excuse me?" the blonde screeched.

"Dude, you were fuckin' cool! Never seen someone stand up to them before!" Blake took a drag of his cigarette before offering it to her. "Want a smoke?"

Maka gave a polite smile and took it, ignoring Tsubaki's squeak of confusion. She moved to take a drag, but instead threw it to the ground and stamped it out with her foot.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" the blue-haired boy shouted.

"You shouldn't be smoking! And I can smell the booze on both of you! I should call the cops on you two!" She turned to storm off and managed to run right into the same girl she had earlier that day.

Both sisters snarled at the blonde. "Did I hear that right? You're gonna call the cops on our party?" Liz spat.

"Why do you keep trying to mess with us, huh, new girl?" Patty followed. "You gonna mess up our party?"

Liz shoved Maka and shouted, "Who the fuck do you think you are?" She shared a high-five with her sister and turned to return to the party.

Nebraska Maka and Nevada Maka were both never afraid to stand up for themselves. With Tsubaki's help, she picked herself up off the floor and marched over to Liz to tap her on the shoulder. Just as the older girl turned to snap at her, Maka punched her straight in the nose. As she watched the girl fall backwards to the floor, nose already beginning to bleed, she shouted, "I'm Maka fucking Albarn! Who the fuck are you?!" She stormed out of the party without another word, leaving Tsubaki, Blake, and Soul in awe and Patty down by her sister's side.

The underage drinking and smoking was the farthest from her mind now. She was shaking with anger and excitement. Nebraska Maka was never afraid to stand up for herself, but she never would have punched someone out. She rather liked being Nevada Maka who was not afraid to punch a bitch out. She made it back to her home, still shaking, but with excitement rather than anger.

"Why didn't you come home right after school?" Spirit asked from his chair in the living room as soon as she walked through the door.

"I was invited to a party. Is that so wrong?" she answered, making a beeline for the kitchen.

"A party on a school night?"

"There's never homework on the first day. Get off my case." She took an apple from the refrigerator and took a seat at the kitchen table. She heard her father get up and walk into the kitchen. He dropped a postcard on the table.

"Your mother wrote."

Maka's eyes lit up. "Finally! I haven't gotten one of these in a while! Is she coming back soon?" Spirit refused to answer. Hurriedly, she grabbed the postcard and turned it over to read her mother's familiar scrawl.

My dearest Maka,  
Sorry for not writing sooner. It is hard to find a mail carrier up in the mountains. I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I know I said that I would see you one of the first few weeks of school, but I was asked to volunteer here. I am very sorry, sweetie, but they need me here. I always think of you and cannot wait to see you again. Remember I love you.  
Mama

Heartbroken, she laid the postcard back on the table. Another excuse to not come back.

"I'm really sorry, Maka," Spirit said as he moved to wrap his arms around her. "I really hoped she would come back soon..."

She pushed him away. "It's too late for you to care about her or me! Why didn't you care when you were with that horrid woman?!" Pushing herself away from the table, she continued, "She's gone and it's all your fault! I needed her, and you made her leave! This is all your fault!" She rushed to her room and locked the door. Sliding down the door to the floor, Maka wrapped her arms around her knees. "It has to be your fault... because if it isn't yours... then maybe it has to be mine..."

…

Maka walked the halls of Death City High School the next day feeling like the entire school was talking about her. The hushed voices of her peers would stop as soon as they noticed that she was in the room. It was starting to bother her.

"Tsubaki, why is everyone being weird around me?" she finally asked her friend at lunch.

"Everyone heard about how you punched Liz," she explained. "You're kind of notorious now. Not necessarily in a bad way though. They just know better than to get on your bad side I guess!" She giggled.

Maka smiled. She rather liked being Nevada Maka.


	2. Episode Two: Tsubaki

_Graduation is supposed to be a wonderful thing. No more high school drama. You are officially recognized as an adult. College is coming up, and you have a newfound sense of freedom. But it isn't all rainbows and butterflies. Because it isn't just a time for fun. It is a time for planning. It is a time to have everything figured out in your life. Because if your plans aren't foolproof, who's to say everything won't fall apart?_

Tsubaki stared at the bright lights on her alarm clock. Once again she had woken up before the alarm. She reached for the information packet on her dresser and flipped through the pages. Images of Julliard covered every page. She smiled. The alarm clock tore her from her daydreaming. She silenced the device and made her way downstairs, blowing a kiss at the photo of a young man on her dresser.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Tsubaki was startled by a stack of letters dropped in front of her. "Look what came in the mail yesterday!" her father beamed. "Look at all the options you have! I'm so proud of you, Tsubaki!"

Her mother pushed the letters aside to place a stack of pancakes where they once lay. "Of course she has all these options. My daughter is bright and talented. But we already know she is applying for medical school at Harvard, right sweetie?"

"Sure, mom," the girl replied halfheartedly. She picked at her breakfast as her parents continued talking amongst themselves. Mostly about how proud they were of their daughter, about all the different colleges she could attend, how an aunt or grandfather was doing. With the last bite of pancake, Tsubaki silently excused herself from the table and made her way back upstairs to her room. She packed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, throwing one last glance at the photo on her dresser. "I won't be too long, Brother," she whispered before heading to school.

She opted to walk instead of taking her bicycle to school. She left pretty early anyway and knew that even if she showed up late to her appointment, Ms. Mjolnir wouldn't mind. The woman was very ditzy and unreliable to most everyone else around her, but to Tsubaki, she was a great support. After her brother's death, the girl spent a lot of time in Ms. Mjolnir's office at school. They had developed a pretty strong friendship.

Her appointment that time had nothing to do with her brother. It had everything to do with her future. As a senior graduating that spring and not having a solid plan for college yet, Tsubaki needed help outside her pushy parents in making her life-altering decision.

So lost in thought, she completely passed Maka at the spot they usually met to go to school together. "Tsubaki! Wait up!" she called to the girl. "Geez, space cadet! What's going on this morning? You forgot your bike and didn't notice me."

"Sorry. It's been a bad morning..." Tsubaki kept walking without turning to look at her friend.

"Did... did you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." She was telling the truth. There was only one person she wanted to talk to about it. But he was far busier with more "important" things.

The two walked in silence until they reached the school. "I have an appointment, so I'll see you at lunch, Maka," Tsubaki said as she headed for the counseling office, leaving her confused friend in the breezeway.

The counseling office was uncomfortably quiet as she waited for Ms. Mjolnir to show up. She always seemed to arrive late for these sorts of things. Finally, the woman burst through the door. "I'm so sorry I'm late! I accidentally took a wrong turn on my way to work this morning and got completely lost!" She took a seat behind the desk and smacked her forehead with her palm. "I just realized I left my office unlocked... I'm really sorry..."

"It's okay, I wasn't waiting too long," Tsubaki reassured her. "You're here now, that's what matters."

"Right, right. So, Tsubaki, how are things at home? Things getting better?"

She stared at her hands in her lap. "Not especially..."

"Oh, I was hoping that since it's been so long since-"

"I'd rather not talk about that today." She fiddled with her fingers in her lap. "We were going to talk about college, remember?"

"Oh, right! Well, do you have some ideas of where you would like to go?"

"Not really..."

They sat in silence for a moment. "What about what you would like to do?"

"No idea..."

Ms. Mjolnir ran a hand through her hair. "Okay, what kinds of places have contacted you? Are there any programs at those schools that interest you? We need to narrow it down a little, you know?"

"My folks want me to go to Harvard's medical school," Tsubaki answered immediately. "I'd be good at it. I'm smart enough, I like biology. I'd be financially secure as a doctor."

"Is that what you want to do?"

The girl played with the end of her ponytail for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "Dance," she finally replied. "I could dance in New York. I sent in an application to Julliard along with Harvard, but I don't know what to do if I'm accepted to both."

A pained look crossed the counselor's face. "I really don't know what to tell you. Those are such vastly different choices, it's kind of hard to compare the two..."

Sadly, Tsubaki slung her bag on her back and turned to leave. "Thanks anyway..." she said. She heard Ms. Mjolnir begin to say something as the door shut. Somehow she knew that the woman was not going to be much help to her. But she had to give it a try.

The girl looked down the hallway and spotted Blake and Soul discussing something excitedly. He looked up and made eye contact with her. She pulled on her collar for a moment and watched him nod at her before heading towards her first class.

…

"The old signal, huh?" Blake's voice rang from the staircase as he climbed to the roof. There he found Tsubaki, waiting for his arrival it seemed. "Haven't used that in years. What's up?"

She sighed and looked out over Death City, silently telling him to come to her side. Obediently, he followed the unspoken orders. "I need help..." she whispered.

"Now you need help?" He had not meant for the question to sound sarcastic, but it was certainly the way she took it.

"What do you mean 'Now you need help'?" she snapped.

"I meant what I said. Now you need my help?" He took a step back from her. "I was there for the longest time, waiting for you to let me help you, but instead you just kept distancing yourself from me."

"That's not true!" Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. "I needed you, and you left me! You and Soul became 'best friends' and left me behind! You started doing drugs and drinking, things you know I don't tolerate, all in an effort to leave me behind!" She turned to look at him, tears now streaming down her face. "Where were you? I needed you... My brother killed himself, and I needed you!"

"You made it pretty clear that you didn't need me, Tsubaki," he replied. "You still don't need me. Figure it out yourself..." And with that, he left.

…

Her parents picked up on her distress as she walked through the front door. Neither asked questions. They had learned to just let her be when they saw her crying. Nothing they could say would be much help to her anyway.

"Any mail today?" their daughter asked sadly.

They shared a look before her father hesitantly handed her a letter. Her eyes lit up. It was from Julliard. She raced to her room and tore open the letter. It was going to be her good news of the day, she was sure of it. Tsubaki scanned over the words, her smile wavering as she continued reading. "I... didn't make it..." she said, not believing the words she was reading. How was that possible? She had worked so hard, traveled so far for her audition. It was all for nothing. She was not called back for the next round of auditions.

She curled up on her bed and cried for a while before falling asleep. Tomorrow could not come soon enough for her. It had been an awful day she just wanted to forget. But she had not been asleep for very long before she heard knocking. Not from her bedroom door, but rather from... the window?

Tsubaki went to open the window to find Blake standing there, his hand poised to knock on the window again. "Really glad I don't have to throw a rock. I don't know how people don't break the window in those movies," he joked. "Can I come in?" She nodded and helped pull him into her room. "That was a whole lot tougher when we were kids, huh? So tall now, it's hella easier!" He saw her fiddle with her hands in her lap instead of look at him. "Look, the reason I'm here is because I'm an asshole and need to apologize. You were hurting and needed me, and I abandoned you... I'm sorry... It's just... it really hurt, Tsubaki. I wanted to help you back then and you wouldn't let me in. I thought you were done with me, so I found a new friend to spend time with because I thought it'd make losing you a lot easier..."

"I'm sorry, too... After Masamune died, I didn't know what to do or who to go to, so I just kinda kept to myself. I never meant to shut you out..."

Blake moved closer to her and pulled her in for a hug. "Hey, it's okay now. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. Say, what did you need help with before, anyway?"

Tsubaki pulled away slightly, wiping tears from her eyes before they threatened to spill over. "It doesn't matter now. One of my options is gone..."

"Whadya mean?"

"I applied for both Julliard and Harvard. I don't - well, didn't - know which I'd rather do. But I got a letter..." She handed it to him and watched him read the words that destroyed her. "I thought I was really good enough. I thought I could do it. Even if I chose Harvard in the end, I at least wanted to know that I could have gone to Julliard if I'd wanted to. But I don't even have the option... because I'm just not as good as I think I am. And what if it's the same with Harvard? What if I'm just not as good at anything as I thought I was?"

"Tsubaki, you're awesome. Those guys are idiots for not letting you come dance for them." He got up off the bed and held his arms out to her. "I know what will cheer you up! Let's dance!"

"I'm not good enough to dance, remember? How would dancing make me feel better?"

"Cuz you're dancing with your best bud! Now c'mon!"

"We don't even have any music..."

"Not a problem!" Blake began humming random notes as he tried to remember the tune to a waltz. "Wait, I got this, hang on. It goes something like dum dah dum, right?"

She giggled and took his hand, allowing the other to rest gently on her hip. "More like dum dah dah dum," she corrected.

"Oh, right! Okay, I got this!" He began humming a familiar waltz as he swung Tsubaki around the room. The more they danced, the more she began to smile. "See, I knew it would work!" he said, giving her a toothy grin.

She had been silly to think that Blake would ever stop being her friend. He was always there for her and knew exactly how to cheer her up. It was no wonder that over the years she had began to develop more romantic feelings for him. But those feelings would have to wait for now. She had her best friend back, and that was good enough for her. They stayed up late, updating each other on the things they had both missed out on since their separation. Eventually, they both fell asleep on her bed, arms around each other.

…

"So Blake stayed the night?" her father asked the next morning, clearly not pleased.

"We hadn't seen each other in so long, we stayed up late talking," she explained. "Try to keep it down, he's still asleep." She grabbed a piece of toast from the plate her mother was bringing to the table. "I needed to talk to someone. I was pretty upset..."

"About not getting the callback?" her mother asked.

"Yes, I didn't get a- Wait a minute. How did you know I didn't get a callback?" Tsubaki looked at them suspiciously. "I never told you what the letter said..."

Her parents glanced at each other before guiltily dropping their gazes to the floor. Her father took a slightly crumpled envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her. "We didn't think it was a good idea for you to become a performer. You would do better off as a doctor with a real job than as a dancer..."

The envelope had already been opened. And it was from Julliard. She pulled out the letter and read over its words. She had been asked for a callback. Meaning the first letter she had read was a fake.

"You know, I used to wonder why Masamune killed himself," Tsubaki said, unable to look her parents in the eye. "I used to think it was something I had done. That I hadn't been a good sister to him. Or that maybe he was hurting and I wasn't there for him when he needed me..." Angrily she tossed the letter at her parents. "But it was always you! Pushing him to be someone maybe he didn't want to be, just like you're doing to me! He could never be who he wanted because it would conflict with the plans that you had for his life! Didn't you learn your lesson the first time? Are you really setting up the scenario again?!"

The girl stormed to her room, slamming and locking the door behind her. The noise woke Blake up. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked sleepily.

She bit her lip to keep from crying, but the tears came anyway. He jumped up from the bed and wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair. "They lied to me," she sobbed into his shoulder. "I just can't believe they'd lie..."

"I'm not going anywhere," he assured her. "You can cry it out on me. We'll deal with it later. I won't leave you."

As she cried on him, she began to wonder if she really could just settle for being friends with Blake.


	3. Episode Three: Soul

_Growing up is supposed to be about finding yourself. Discovering who you are, what you have to offer this world. But what if everything you are is not enough? What if there will always be someone greater than you. What's the point in searching for yourself if there will always be someone better than whoever you find?_

Cellphones were never meant to be in beds. They got lost among the sheets too easily. And even when they were ringing angrily at you, they were near impossible to find. Especially at eight in the morning when you first woke up. Soul wrestled with the sheets for a few good minutes before finally finding the loud device and bringing it up to his ear to answer the call. And he thought it had been loud before.

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, SOUL, GET THE FUCK OUT OF BED AND GO TO SCHOOL!"

"Mornin' to you too, mom..." he replied sleepily. The boy rubbed his eyes of the last bit of sleep they held.

"See, this is exactly why we can't handle you! Why should we give a damn about your education if you don't?! I already told Dr. Black that we will not be attending the conference he asked for. Had to explain that he should just give up on our good-for-nothing son! Why can't you just be a little like your brother? Enough to be worthwhi-!" Click.

Soul fell back onto the bed with a sigh. "I'm not worth anything, right? So why waste anyone's time?" he asked no one in particular. A quick tone from his cellphone signaled an incoming text for him. Reluctantly he checked it.

"wear r u bro?"

Blake. Clearly his friend thought he was worthwhile. Perhaps he would be able to get him through what was starting to be a shitty day. Finally rolling out of bed, Soul changed into what he assumed were clean clothes. Throwing on his leather jacket and backpack, he made his way out to his motorcycle. It had been the last thing he bought while still living under his parents' roof. It also may have been one of the last straws his parents had before throwing him out.

The trip to school was short and quiet. Probably because he was a good half hour late and there was barely any traffic on the road. He parked his motorcycle and reluctantly entered the school just in time to hear his name called over the intercom. "Soul Evans to the principal's office," Azusa's voice rang. He sighed. Better to face it now than have one of the teachers drag him to Dr. Black's office.

Entering the business office, Soul winked at the secretary. "Mornin', Azusa. Lookin' good today," he said, leaning on the desk.

She rolled her eyes and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose before returning her gaze to her computer screen. "Dr. Black will see you now," she said without looking at him. "Flattery will not get you out of this meeting."

Frowning, Soul turned towards the principal's office. He knocked and waited for confirmation to enter before throwing open the door. "Hey, Lord Death," he greeted sarcastically before taking a seat.

"How did that nickname ever come to be?" Dr. Black asked. "Nevermind that now, we're here to talk about you, Soul, not me." The principal laced his fingers and leaned his elbows on the desk. "I'm concerned about your academic performance. You rarely show up for classes, and when you do, your work is poor. I'm just very confused. Your records show that you haven't had these issues before. What's going on?"

Soul shrugged. "Maybe I'm not as smart as you think I am."

"Don't say such things!" He leaned back in his chair. "I know things are a bit... difficult at home. Your mother barely spoke to me when I asked for a conference..."

"Probably screamed the whole time," the boy muttered.

"That's why I asked your brother to attend this conference instead."

Soul stared at him in silent fury. Wes was going to be there? At his school? His day was just getting better and better.

Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door as a taller, more mature looking version of Soul walked in the open doorway. "Sorry to just barge in, but the door was open," he said, closing the door behind him.

"Ah, the famous Wes Evans! It's a pleasure to meet you, although it is unfortunate that we had to meet under these circumstances." The principal motioned for the man to sit down.

"I'm sorry my baby brother has caused you such headache," he replied, taking a seat next to the younger man. "Hey there, Little Brother. Causing trouble isn't cool, you know."

Soul rolled his eyes.

"So, what do you suggest, Dr. Black. How do we fix my poor, sweet baby brother?" Wes continued.

"Personally I suggest a tutor, a study-buddy, someone who can help Soul with his homework and motivate him in school." The principal got up from his chair. "And I have just the right student in mind! She's a bright young lady, top of her class!" He walked around his desk to open the door. "Azusa, would you please call Ms. Albarn down to my office?" he called to the secretary. Returning to his seat, Dr. Black gave Soul a stern look. "I want to see you graduate, Soul. I know you can do it, you just need a little more faith. Now go on, you've got some learning to do!" He waved the two men out of his office with a goofy grin on his face.

As they walked out of the door, Wes rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Seriously, Soul, I can't keep coming over here to bail you out every time you screw up. I have my own life, I have my career."

"Then why do you keep coming back over here if I'm such a screw-up?"

"Because I care about you. You're my brother, brothers are supposed to look out for one another." He slumped into one of the business office's chairs. "But I can only do so much. I can't just up and leave in the middle of a performance to come to your rescue. So now I have to put my foot down."

Soul began chewing on the inside of his mouth.

"Here's the deal. You accept this Ms. Albarn's help. You start getting better grades. If there isn't a significant improvement by the time semester rolls around, I won't be helping you anymore. You'll have to get your own place, pay your own rent, buy your own food, everything by yourself. I can't keep helping you like this if you don't take your education seriously. I want to be there for you, Little Brother, but you make it really hard." Wes leaned his elbows on his knees and looked for a sign of acknowledgement from the young man. "Do we have a deal?"

"Don't have much of a choice, huh?"

The older brother got up and placed a hand on Soul's shoulder. "This is really important, okay? I know it doesn't seem like it, but it is. Keep up your end of the bargain, kay?" Just as Wes moved to leave the office, Maka walked in. "Are you Ms. Albarn?" he asked her.

Confused, she nodded at him. "Dr. Black wanted to see me about something?"

Wes took her by the hand gently and led her to Soul. "I leave my brother in your capable hands, my dear," he said before placing a kiss on her hand. "Get something through that thick skull of his, okay? I have faith in you." He threw a "I'll catch you later, Little Brother" over his shoulder before finally leaving Soul and a blushing Maka staring at each other.

"Wait, w-what am I supposed to be doing now?" she stammered.

He started to walk away. "Nothing. Forget it."

"Dr. Black asks that you tutor Soul," Azusa butted in before looking up from her computer. "You made a promise to your brother that you would accept Ms. Albarn's help, correct?" she asked, glaring at Soul.

He continued biting the side of his mouth, not even caring that he had already broken the skin. "Fine. Yeah, you're 'sposed to be my tutor," he admitted.

"Oh." She shuffled her feet and kept her focus on the clock on the wall behind him. "We should head back, huh? We can discuss this later. Meet me at my locker after school? It's number 42."

"Sure." He followed her awkwardly out of the office and down the hall until they parted ways. To be honest, he felt bad for her. Now she was dragged into his problems, problems he was sure she could not fix. He was a wasted effort, even she had to know that. But his options were to accept her help and hope for the best or become homeless. Soul didn't think the hobo life was for him.

…

He leaned against her locker, waiting for her to arrive. Where would they do this whole tutoring stuff? Maybe her house? He would probably get distracted at the school. A "people watcher", that was what his grandmother used to call him. He didn't have time to consider their options before he noticed Maka walking down the hallway towards him. The tough girl he had met that night at the party now struggled with a stack of books in her arms. He couldn't help but snicker a little bit. "Those are all your textbooks?"

"No, they're tutoring resources."

Now he felt like an ass. She was taking this tutoring thing way more seriously than he was. "You know, I can-"

"Thanks, Soul!" she interrupted, dropping the books into his hands before he could finish his sentence. "So, where are we doing this at?" she asked as she fumbled with the lock on her locker.

"Figured we'd go to your house," he answered with an unhappy growl as he tried to right the stack of books.

Her locker clicked open, but she stood still for a moment, apparently contemplating his answer. She shook her head violently. "No, there's no way we can go to my house, no way at all. Maybe we can go to the library instead?"

"Nah. Too full of people," he sighed. "Guess we have no choice, huh? My place it is."

She slowly took the books from Soul's arms and placed them in her backpack, hands shaking slightly. "I guess we don't have a choice..." she muttered.

He picked up on her nervousness. "I won't do anything weird to you, promise. You're tutoring me, that's all. Besides, you aren't really my type."

Maka slammed the last book from the stack into his head.

"Ow! What the hell, Maka?! What was that for?!"

"Let's get this done and over with. I have homework of my own to get to." She slung her backpack over her shoulder, and Soul was certain she meant to hit him with it. She motioned for him to move ahead of her. "So, are you going to show me the way or not?"

He glared at her before adjusting his own backpack and leading the way to his home.

...

Whatever nervousness she had had was gone as they entered his apartment. Maka gave herself a brief tour, "oo"ing and "ah"ing at objects he had managed to snag before his sudden eviction from home. And then she found his keyboard.

"Oh my goodness, you play piano?" she gushed, turning towards him with puppy eyes. "Soul, could you... would you be willing to play a little for me?"

He cringed. After the day he had had, would he even be able to play anything? Trying to keep his composure, he casually walked to the kitchen to grab a soda. "We're here for tutoring, right? Not music class." He tossed a can to her, causing her to scramble to catch it.

With the can safely in her hands, she looked up at him with large, pleading, green eyes. "You mean you'd be able to teach me?"

"Maybe, but that's not what we're here for," he reiterated.

"What if we made a deal?"

He did not like where this was going, but he decided to humor her. He plopped down on the couch and laughed a bit as he asked, "Yeah? What's that?"

"I'll help you in your schoolwork if you help me understand music." Gone were her pleading puppy eyes. Now they were filled with determination.

Soul sighed. The whole point was for her to tutor him so he would not become homeless. But he couldn't tell her that. It was his problem, not hers. He did not want to drag her into his mess any more than she already was. But she seemed so interested in learning about music, specifically from him. He slumped back in his seat and stared at the ceiling in defeat. "Alright, deal. I just have one more question for you."

"What's that?"

"Do you know who Wes Evans is?"

Maka brought her hand to her mouth as she thought. He couldn't help but smile at the look of concentration on her face. "No, I can't say I do. Is he a relative of yours or something?"

He grinned. "No, I was just curious. Alright, let's get this tutoring stuff done and over with so we can get to the good stuff." She was one of the only people in this world who did not know who his brother was. She could not compare him to Wes because she did not know Wes' abilities. Maybe, just maybe, he could let his guard down around this girl.


End file.
